Books with title Runaway Ralph

"It's a cold, hard, cruel fact that my mother loved heroin more than she loved me."Holly is in her fifth foster home in two years and she's had enough. She's run away before and always been caught quickly. But she's older and wiser now--she's twelve--and this time she gets away clean.Through tough and tender and angry and funny journal entries, Holly spills out her story. We travel with her across the country--hopping trains, scamming food, sleeping in parks or homeless encampments. And we also travel with her across the gaping holes in her heart--as she finally comes to terms with her mother's addiction and death. Runaway is a remarkably uplifting portrait of a girl still young and stubborn and naive enough to hold out hope for finding a better place in the world, and within herself, to be.From the Hardcover edition.

"It's a cold, hard, cruel fact that my mother loved heroin more than she loved me."Holly is in her fifth foster home in two years and she's had enough. She's run away before and always been caught quickly. But she's older and wiser now--she's twelve--and this time she gets away clean.Through tough and tender and angry and funny journal entries, Holly spills out her story. We travel with her across the country--hopping trains, scamming food, sleeping in parks or homeless encampments. And we also travel with her across the gaping holes in her heart--as she finally comes to terms with her mother's addiction and death. Runaway is a remarkably uplifting portrait of a girl still young and stubborn and naive enough to hold out hope for finding a better place in the world, and within herself, to be.

When Holly's teacher, Mrs. Leone, gives her a blank journal, Holly is disgusted. Writing in a journal can't make her forget that she's a 12-year-old orphan and that her mother died of a heroin overdose, or that the foster parents she's living with abuse her, locking her in the laundry room for days and sticking her head in the toilet when she tries to defend herself. Mrs. Leone could never understand Holly and, in Holly's opinion, probably doesn't care to. No one knows what she faces each day because she tells no one. But when boredom threatens to drive her crazy one night in the laundry room, Holly starts to write. And despite her scorn at the mere idea of keeping a journal, she continues writing. When Holly can no longer take the abuse, she runs away. Unlike her previous attempts, this time she succeeds, making it out of town and heading west. She takes only the essentials...and her journal, filling long hours of fear and boredom by updating Mrs. Leone, despite the fact that her teacher will never see her or the journal again. Over the course of her journey she also learns to face her past through her writing and discovers a true knack for poetry, much to her surprise. What started as a way to fend off boredom by writing angry and sarcastic notes to Mrs. Leone slowly becomes a tool for self-discovery, an honest account of her life and, in a way, her only confidante and most prized possession. As Holly comes to terms with her life and overcomes obstacle after obstacle to improve it, she eventually learns to accept love and kindness instead of running from it.

Jessica's had it with Sweet Valley.Jessica Wakefield is sick and tired of taking second place to her twin sister, Elizabeth. Everyone adores Elizabeth; she's kind and loving and generous. But Jessica can't seem to do anything right.Then Jessica meets handsome, sensitive Nicky Shepard, who feels the same way she does. Nicky is running away to San Francisco and wants Jessica to join him. At first she doesn't take him seriously. But when things reach the breaking point at home, Jessica starts to see that she might be better off if she left Sweet Valley--forever!

Florian feels like he’s losing everything. His soccer camp, which his parents can’t pay for. His chance to flirt with his secret crush at camp. His parents’ attention. But most of all, his big sister Sarah, who has cancer. Florian is sick of everyone acting like everything is fine when they all know that Sarah isn’t getting any better. Being around my family is extremely hazardous to my health. So Florian makes a split decision: instead of celebrating his sister’s depressing eighteenth birthday at the hospital, he’s going to soccer camp. He takes off from the hospital, packs his bags, raids his parents’ secret stash of cash, and forges a permission letter for his coach. And he goes. But amidst the partying, the girls, the fun, there are some things Florian can’t leave behind him, no matter how hard he tries. When his parents don’t call him, he has to wonder if they miss him at all—or if maybe they have bigger things to worry about. . . .

Savana Moretti has been on the run for the last seven years of her life. Pursued by her own father after witnessing a horrific crime, Savvy has been forced to stay hidden by using a variety of aliases and the help of an insider to stay alive. A messy situation in New Jersey leads to a grudging rescue, one that Savvy can’t refuse due to her dwindling cash flow. Forced to settle in New York, Savvy picks up a job as a groom for a thoroughbred trainer who is considered well past his prime. However, that may be about to change when a young colt starts showing hints of talent. The colt’s connections have lofty goals, including the Kentucky Derby. Meanwhile, an old flame comes to the forefront, one that could simultaneously ignite her greatest desires and destroy her. She’s gone down this route before and knows that she can’t afford to play nice and drop her guard. It’s one thing to know that she might lose her life, but she sure as hell won’t let her heart shatter in the process.